Roller chain and guide unit having the same therein

Abstract

A roller chain is provided, which is composed of more than one roller and a carrier belt. The roller chain helps make sure of keeping the rollers against moving on the skew even under carrying high loads while the carrier belt is made to have a large space to reserve lubricant sufficient to ensure good lubrication. The carrier belt is comprised of a pair of continuous bands lying to carry or bear axially opposite ends of the roller across an area set off-center from an axis of the roller, and more than one U-type separator to join the continuous bands together with one another. The U-type separators 6 are each composed of a pair of legs joined together with their associated continuous bands, and a horizontal bridge interconnecting the sidewise spaced leg with each other.

1. A roller chain comprising more than one rolling element of roller, and a carrier belt easy to incur elastic bending with the rollers being arranged on the carrier belt in succession;
 wherein the carrier belt has a pair of continuous bands spaced away from one another and extended lengthwise across areas set off-centre from axes of the rollers to carry axially opposite ends of the rollers across circular, and more than one separator of U-type viewed in a lengthwise direction of the carrier belt to join the continuous bands together with one another; and 
 wherein the U-type separators are spaced lengthwise away from one another to provide a preselected interval between any adjacent separators, in which the roller fits for rotation in a way coming into rolling contact with the associated separators at only axially spaced circular areas around a circular rolling surface thereof. 
 
   
   
     2. A roller chain constructed as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the U-type separators are each composed of a pair of legs spaced away from one another that are joined to their associated continuous bands at their ends on one side with respect to a centre plane extending through axes of the rollers arranged in succession, and a bridge merged with their associated legs at opposite ends thereof on other side with respect to the centre plane extending through axes of the rollers, the bridge being provided with eaves extending over the rolling surfaces of the associated rollers to keep the rollers against falling away from the carrier belt. 
   
   
     3. A roller chain constructed as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the legs stand such that their middle areas between the continuous bands and the bridges lie substantially on the centre plane extending through the axes of the rollers. 
   
   
     4. A roller chain constructed as defined in  claim 1 , wherein a clearance is defined within the U-type separator in the carrier belt, and a lubricant applicator fits into the clearance. 
   
   
     5. A guide unit comprising a guide rail, a slider allowed to move relatively to the guide rail by virtue of more than one rolling element of roller, and a roller chain installed in the slider and composed of a flexible carrier belt allowed to bend into a curved form and the rollers lying sequentially one after another along the flexible carrier belt;
 wherein the carrier belt has a pair of continuous bands spaced away from one another and extended lengthwise across circular areas set off-centre from axes of the rollers to carry axially opposite ends of the rollers, and more than one separator of U-type viewed in a lengthwise direction of the carrier belt to join the continuous bands together with one another, the U-type separators being spaced lengthwise away from one another to provide a preselected interval between any two adjacent separators, in which the roller fits for rotation in a way coming into rolling contact with the associated separators at only axially spaced circular areas around a circular rolling surface thereof; and 
 wherein the roller chain is installed in a recirculation circuit composed of a loaded race defined between the guide rail and the slider and a non-load area that is made up of a return passage made in the slider and turnarounds made in the slider to communicate the loaded race with the return passage to allow the chain roller to turn about in rolling direction. 
 
   
   
     6. A guide unit constructed as defined in  claim 5 , wherein the slider is composed of a carriage having a raceway surface to provide the loaded race where the roller are allowed to roll through there and having the return passage therein, end caps secured to forward and aft ends of the carriage, one to each end, and provided therein with the turnarounds, and a retainer plate arranged in opposition to the carriage to cooperate with the carriage to guide the roller chain. 
   
   
     7. A guide unit constructed as defined in  claim 6 , wherein the rollers, when rolling through the load race, are born or carried at their axially opposite centre areas, lying on the centre plane extending through the axes of the rollers, of the axially opposite circular ends of the rollers, against and guided along a guide surface lying on the carriage at right angles relative to the associated raceway surface of the carriage. 
   
   
     8. A guide unit constructed as defined in  claim 7 , wherein the guide surface of the carriage to guide the rollers at their axially opposite circular ends is worked at a time simultaneously with cutting of the associated raceway surface on the carriage. 
   
   
     9. A guide unit constructed as defined in  claim 7 , wherein the carrier belt is placed in the load race with any one of the continuous bands lying in a guide groove cut in the carriage along an area where the raceway surface and the guide surface merge with one another while the other continuous band fitting in a guide recess cut in the retainer plate in adjacency with a guide surface on the retainer plate. 
   
   
     10. A guide unit constructed as defined in  claim 5 , which is applicable to a linear motion guide unit.